Donkeys in France have been employed primarily for companionship and tourism purposes since the 1970s. They were first introduced during the Gallo-Roman period and later in the late Merovingian era, becoming integrated into medieval animal symbolism. Historically, donkeys were primarily employed as pack and draught animals for modest farmers, and until the mid-20th century, they were essential for any job requiring the transport of goods. The species experienced a decline with the mechanization of agriculture, leading to the near-extinction of French donkey breeds and the implementation of conservation measures.
The Manche department of Normandy currently hosts the largest population of donkeys in France. France breeds a diverse and widely dispersed donkey population, with seven officially recognized breeds. Currently, donkeys are predominantly bred for conservation, with their utilization in market gardening becoming increasingly uncommon. Additionally, there is a commercial sector for donkey milk.
Donkeys have left a significant imprint on French culture, featuring prominently in proverbs, popular songs, games, tales, legends, and novels. Despite the frequent portrayal of donkeys in proverbs as foolish creatures, traditional beliefs often depict them as pious and virtuous animals, as well as symbols of wealth. This is exemplified in the popular fairy tale of Donkeyskin.
History Donkeys are not native to France; they originally came from the Horn of Africa. They were sporadically and limitedly imported during the Gallo-Roman era, then more widely introduced to northern France in the late Merovingian period (7th and 8th centuries). According to archaeozoologists Benoît Clavel and Jean-Hervé Yvinec, donkeys were present on 12% of studied rural sites during the early Middle Ages. The donkeys spread throughout France, especially in rural areas, within two to three centuries. Clavel and Yvinec estimate that 5 to 10% of equid remains from this period belong to hybrids between donkeys and horses. Veterinarian Anne-Caroline Chambry highlights that donkeys “were long a part of the French landscape, seen everywhere from markets to roads and farms”.
From the Middle Ages to the 17th century The donkey acquired a prominent symbolic place from the Middle Ages, like other exotic animals such as the lion, by becoming, especially in medieval encyclopedias, a symbol of stupidity and foolishness. According to medievalist and art historian Michel Pastoureau, the existence of the dunce cap is attested as early as the 12th century in cathedral schools. During the medieval period, donkey skin was utilized to create parchment, and various parchment festivals were held on these occasions, particularly at the Abbey of Saint-Denis.
The donkey is referenced by the philosopher Jean Buridan in his parable of Buridan's Donkey, illustrating the difficulty of deciding. Although the donkey in question was, according to Pastoureau, purely symbolic and never existed outside of a verbal jousting, this paradox illustrates the proverbial stupidity of the animal. It was later often referenced and commented on, notably by Voltaire.
The donkey also appears in medieval and Renaissance animal trials. The archives of the provost of Dijon mention that in 1405, a donkey was put to death as punishment for killing a child. These sources also mention trials for bestiality, such as an ass-driver from Villeneuve-l'Archevêque (Champagne) who was condemned on January 8, 1558, to be hanged and then burned with his donkey for having sexual relations with it. A similar trial in the Parliament of Paris on November 24, 1542, resulted in the condemnation of a man from Loudun (Anjou) to be strangled and burned with his donkey. Similar trials existed, with judges in the 17th century being more lenient towards the animal.
From the 17th to the late 18th century
In the 17th century, the "infamous" donkey ride, called "asinade" or "asouade", is mentioned in France as part of the charivari. This practice possibly originated from ancient Greek traditions that sought to highlight the ridiculous and highly sexualized aspects associated with the donkey. British historian Martin Ingram, in a study of historical social control mechanisms in Europe, notes that the "asouade", which was organized during the French charivari, was a form of punishment for women who beat their husbands. From the second half of the 18th century onwards, the "asinade" became a public humiliation punishment, adopted particularly in Paris and southern France. This punishment was inflicted on brothel-keepers from 1760 in Toulouse. In Mémoires manuscrites, Toulouse chronicler Pierre Barthès provides a detailed account of the public humiliation and punishment of brothel-keepers. Barthès writes that a brothel keeper was "condemned to be paraded through the whole city, with a rope around her neck, held by the executioner, and wearing a feathered helmet adorned with bells, a small mantlet over her shoulders in a similar fashion, mounted on a donkey facing its tail, escorted by the entire watch, with the executioner's assistant leading the donkey by the halter." This form of humiliation was reserved exclusively for women, while men convicted of pimping were required to follow the procession on foot.
Buffon's description of the donkey in the encyclopedia Histoire Naturelle reflects, according to Anne-Caroline Chambry, the contempt in which this animal was held at the time. Before the French Revolution, some postal services, particularly in the South, were only served by donkeys.
From the 19th century to 1914 While it is challenging to ascertain the precise number of French donkeys in the 19th century, the pervasiveness of cultural production referencing them is evidence of their prominent presence in society at the time. In 1862, most donkeys were in the Paris Basin, with a density of approximately 10 donkeys per 1,000 inhabitants. Thirty years later, they were mostly found in the Berry region. Some French regions maintained a tradition of donkey breeding, particularly Normandy, Poitou, Berry, Bourbonnais, the Pyrenees, and Provence. Agricultural practices in plain regions likely favored the donkey's rarity.
Historically, the donkey was utilized for agricultural purposes, particularly in the transportation of heavy loads such as milk cans in Normandy and young lambs in Provence. In the southern Alps and Haute-Loire, donkeys were bred for export to other French regions or Italy. Families that utilized the donkey's labor often developed a close relationship with the animal, as the donkey represented an exception to the traditional spatial separation between humans and animals in Provence. It was not uncommon for the stable housing of the donkey to be situated on the ground floor of the domicile, near the wood and food supplies.
The donkey during World War I
It is a lesser-known fact that donkeys played an important role during World War I. Initially, in 1914, only horses and mules were requisitioned, with donkeys excluded from the requisition plan. The advent of trench warfare led to their mobilization.
The French Armed Forces then enlisted the assistance of these donkeys, which were primarily imported from North Africa, particularly Algeria, for logistical purposes. The exact number of these animals remains unknown. Their diminutive size allowed them to navigate the trenches, avoiding enemy fire. They were mobilized in the Somme, Flanders, Artois, and Aisne to provide supplies to the infantry, engineers, and artillery. These donkeys, equipped with indigenous packs, were notably mobilized during the Battle of Verdun in 1916.
To prevent them from braying and alerting the enemy, their nostrils were slit vertically. Their reputation among soldiers was generally good. Of all the French equids mobilized, donkeys suffered the most from food shortages, according to Éric Baratay. This was because they were fed only after horses were maximally protected by their riders, while donkeys had no assigned caretakers.
Following the war conclusion surviving donkeys whose owners could be located were returned to them. However, those that could not be reclaimed by civilian owners, particularly the "small African donkeys", were slaughtered despite their contributions. With the advent of animal studies, Raymond Boissy gathered testimonies from veterans and civilians about the donkeys that served at Verdun. Statistical data does not permit a number estimation of French donkeys that perished during the Great War, as only horses and mules were counted. In his analysis, Jean-Michel Derex posits that this phenomenon represents a form of hierarchy among animals.
Decline
The gradual motorization of activities in the 20th century led to a generalized decline in the use and breeding of donkeys. Motor vehicles competed with donkeys in their economic transport functions. The general motorization of agricultural activities also contributed to their decline. For example, donkeys were historically used to operate olive presses, but these tools increasingly ran on internal combustion or electric motors. Dr. Anne-Caroline Chambry attributes the decline of donkeys in part to rural exodus, as the animals remained in rural areas while disappearing from large French cities.
The decline of the French donkey population commenced in the early decades of the 20th century and became particularly pronounced in the 1950s, with a drastic reduction in numbers. Following the conclusion of World War II, the French donkey density dropped to a mere two or three donkeys per thousand inhabitants. The evolution of the purchasing price of donkeys reflects the collapse of their labor value. In 1892, the purchase price of a donkey equated to approximately one and a half months of a worker's wages. Between 1950 and the early 20th century, the relative purchasing cost of a donkey halved, with the average price of a donkey now equivalent to one-third of a worker's monthly salary.
The associated agricultural skills and culture also disappeared. Donkeys persisted slightly longer in sharecropping regions, such as Berry and Bourbonnais, and in small agricultural areas. In 1977, an INRA survey concluded that the Poitou donkey would have entirely disappeared by the century's end if no preservation efforts were undertaken.
Preservation While horses have been the subject of numerous scientific studies in France, donkeys have been relatively understudied since the 1980s. Facing the risk of extinction of donkey breeds, various actors from the 1990s onwards mobilized to preserve this living heritage. Annick Audiot was a pioneer in this field, conducting a study on the Poitou donkey in 1977, which found only 44 individuals at the time. In 1978, a new profession of donkey trekking guides emerged, gradually becoming professionalized.
This was accompanied by the creation of studbooks to manage French donkey breeds and combat inbreeding. The Haras Nationaux, now the (IFCE), supported this preservation effort by officially recognizing French donkey breeds. Donkey centers were established in Lignières, Braize, and Dampierre-sur-Boutonne. The number of French donkeys increased from 23,000 to 35,000 between 1985 and 1994.
Nevertheless, the criteria for defining French donkey breeds were established relatively late. These criteria, which define the breeds, led to the selection of well-characterized animals and the elimination of the "common donkey of old rural France," which resulted from random crossbreeding and did not meet any breed standards. The Berry and Pyrenean donkeys were influenced by individuals from outside France to reduce inbreeding. To reduce inbreeding in herds, breeder associations began searching for donkeys meeting their breed standards in neighboring regions. The most recently characterized breed is the Corsican donkey, which has not yet been officially recognized.